1/72 Hasegawa Me 262A-1 - Oberstleutnant Heinz Bär

[Tempestwulf]

Afternoon from a sunny winters day in New Zealand. This is my most recent build of Hasegawa's 1/72 Me 262A-1 in the markings of Oberstleutnant Heinz Bär — III./JG 2, Lechfeld, March 1945.

 

Super happy with the final product as it was parked on the shelf of doom for a while due to loss of motivation and other non modelling projects. Don't feel bad if you park a kit, sometimes you just need time to reassess and recharge.

 

Kit went together well overall with the fit of the engine cowls/pods giving me extra work due to the fits and reshaping due to think plastic around the intakes/exhausts which needed reshaping. Tamiya grey putty was applied on the wing-fuselage join underneath but easily sanded smooth once hard and rescribed. Cockpit was details using Eduard etched detail set. Canopy was sanded smooth due to a few imperfections, buffed then dipped in Johnsons clear before being masked up. Mould lines cleaned up on landing gear parts along with the Brassin resin wheels after their removal from the pour blocks.

 

Model was undercoated with Mr Surfacer 1200, painted using Mr Color RLM 76 Light blue, RLM 82 green and RLM81 Brown Violet. I added a drop of red brown to the RLM81 as wasn't happy with how olive it looked.

 

Markings from Xtradecals which are perfectly thin and opaque, no bleed through of the underlying camo colours. They were applied on a gloss coat and adhered flawlessly. Go easy on the strong decal setting solutions as the decals will react and distort quickly if overworked.  Decals Sealed in with another gloss coat before dull coating using Tamiya Satin Varnish.

 

Weathering was made by preshading panel lines with a dark grey, then post shading after main colours applied (a drop of white here, drop of darker tone there). AK Interactive panel liner and MIG dark wash for recesses, along with grime around the wing root.  I used Ammo's acrylic Dio Drybrushing paint Light Metal for the silver chipping. New product for me and I really liked it, do recommend. AK Landing Gear Dust Effect used for the tyres to really give the tread that 'pop'.

 

Landing gear bays were painted RLM 02 instead of silver to add a bit of depth to the otherwise bare space. 🙄

 

Landing gear legs and most doors attached with either small dots or Gorilla glue or Ammo's extra thin cement. The latter was a new product for me too and I'm impressed, use a mask though. WHOA!

 

Extras purchased for build:

Eduard etched prepainted set SS600

Eduard precut canopy mask

Brassin resin wheels 672159

Xtradecal sheet X72269

 

Hope you enjoy the pictures of this iconic aircraft. I look forward to building more late war aircraft, especially Airfix's Mosquito and Tempest due this year.

 

Kia Kaha

Brad

Edited June 12, 2021 by Tempestwulf

[72modeler]

Very nice 262! The Hasegawa kit is an oldie, but a goody. Weathering very restrained and realistic. Well done! How about a Hasegawa Me-262b-1 to go with it?

Mike

[IanC]

Excellent job. The paintwork looks just right, especially the mottle and feathered edges on the nacelles.

[mick]

great work

[Baldieplod]

That is fantastic .. The mottling and paint finish looks perfect for 1/72 scale . . Weathering kept to a minimum . It's a 10 out of 10 from me Brad .

[Parabat]

What a stunner, the mottling is brilliant, the final model is excellent. Brilliant work.

[billn53]

Lovely! I wish my mottling was half so good.

[Wulfman]

Superb job on the Swallow, great finish !

 

Wulfman

[kapam]

Amazing!  I love the finesse and fine detail.

You really nailed it.

 

[Giampiero Piva]

Nice 'Schwalbe', congrats !

[Tempestwulf]

Thanks everyone for the positive feedback and encouragement. Love the Britmodeller community, never gonna give you up.

[Slywolff]

Excellent build and finish well done!